Hey guys, since Star Trek is distributed by Paramount in Australia, and the mix features the same codec as the U.S. release, I think it's safe to assume the mixes will be the same. Ditto for Monsters, Inc. (Disney/U.K. = Disney/U.S.) Anyone feel compelled to disagree?

Thanks, Bryan. The only disagreement I have is with Tropic Thunder. I think it was a damn fine track with the exception of a few LFE inconsistencies. I thought many of us voted Teir 1 for it, but I could be wrong.

Hopefully a few more reviews will roll in for Ice Age 3 since I know a few people were waiting for it to be delivered.

Thanks, Bryan. The only disagreement I have is with Tropic Thunder. I think it was a damn fine track with the exception of a few LFE inconsistencies. I thought many of us voted Teir 1 for it, but I could be wrong.

Hopefully a few more reviews will roll in for Ice Age 3 since I know a few people were waiting for it to be delivered.

Thanks again.

I'm showing four Tier 2 votes and two Tier 1 votes for Tropic Thunder, including yours. lgans316 was the other like-minded person on that one.

Hopefully we'll see a big upswing of activity on this thread as the summer movies continue to roll in, Ice Age 3 included.

REMOVED from Reference:
Black Hawk Down
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy

NEW to Tier 0:
12 Rounds
Black Hawk Down
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
Contact
X-Men: The Last Stand

REMOVED from Tier 0:
Tropic Thunder

REMOVED from Tier 1:
V for Vendetta
X-Men: The Last Stand

NEW to Tier 2:
Tropic Thunder
V for Vendetta

Currently Disputed Rankings: Cleared out!

REMOVED from Unfinished Business:
12 Rounds
A Bug's Life
Contact

NEW to Unfinished Business:
Easy Rider
Enemy at the Gates
Fatal Attraction
Grace
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
The Illusionist (German release)
Land of the Lost
The Last Holiday
Mad Money (Canadian release)
Requiem for a Dream
Set It Off
Stargate
Trick r Treat
Visions of the Sea
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection

You missed Twister, it should not be in Reference, please see post #29 on page 1. Thanks

Speed Racer[currently in Tier 3] is also long time disputed ranking by Shadow and I because it was penalized for it's lossy DD encode which should not be a criteria alone for voting. We both rated it Tier 1 I believe while the "dissenting" vote was tier 5 given out of spite not for the merits of the soundtrack therefore it really should not be counted.

The first thing you'll notice with this track is how aggressive everything sounds, which given the subject matter, is no surprise. The surround panning is very impressive, boasting incredible detail and meticulous positioning. LFE presence was constant and never lacking, but I did feel a few instances where it felt slightly bloated. Detail was solid but not up there with the very best reference material. Dialog was pretty much immaculate throughout, with no signs of compression or other artifacts. One particular aspect of the mix that I loved was the score. It seems they have achieved the perfect blend between the the volume of the score versus the volume is what is actually happening on screen. Overall I though the mix lacked the "airiness" that creates the illusion of a large soundstage. Everything sounded like it was very close to you, making it sound less open and more claustrophobic. This is a nitpick however, as in my experience tracks which exhibit this quality are few and far between. Overall another very impressive track which I'm going to vote as reference (albeit a weak one).

Apocalypto - This is the first time I am listening to the LPCM track properly and man what a mix. Dynamics is first rate. Most of the sound elements captured and reproduced without overdoing it. Btw, this one has some thumping LFE. Midrange sounds are mapped to the LFE which puts the sub to its extreme. No wonder this is in reference tier.

Apocalypto - This is the first time I am listening to the LPCM track properly and man what a mix. Dynamics is first rate. Most of the sound elements captured and reproduced without overdoing it. Btw, this one has some thumping LFE. Midrange sounds are mapped to the LFE which puts the sub to its extreme. No wonder this is in reference tier.

Interesting. I've never even seen this movie. Guess I should finally check it out.

Best thing about this track is dialogue never wavers. Also, ambient noise well represented. Some channel separation such as voices off screen in the distance. Just not much to work with in this romantic comedy.

Bryan, are you checking with the previous thread when moving movies into and out of different tiers? Remember, some of us previously ranked some movies there. Because of that, if say 5 of us ranked a movie tier 0 but only 2 people ranked it tier 1 in this thread, it should still remain in tier 0.

Bryan, are you checking with the previous thread when moving movies into and out of different tiers? Remember, some of us previously ranked some movies there. Because of that, if say 5 of us ranked a movie tier 0 but only 2 people ranked it tier 1 in this thread, it should still remain in tier 0.

Thanks

With the ones that were listed as disputed (i.e., the votes I had counted since 7-12-09 indicated a different placement than there was currently), yesterday I searched through both of the previous threads to tabulate all votes cast. As far as I was able to determine, the downward movements were all justified.

If anyone would like to dispute the current rankings, I've kept records of each vote cast (and by who) since July 12, and am happy to include records of votes cast before then if others are willing to do the footwork. While I would love to have a comprehensive database of every vote cast for every movie since the thread began, the time commitment is too great at this time.

Understandable Bryan, and I of course am not asking you to review the old thread every time a movie moves up or down. Can I at least suggest for movement into or out of the reference tier to review the previous thread?

As always, this is just a suggestion, you are the OP so whatever work you are willing to take on is appreciated and fully up to you.

Dialogue is clear throughout and doesn't have hollow one-dimensional sound as many other older movies do. The music throughout is more full sounding as well. If you listen to Alfred Hitchcock's guided tour in the special features you will more fully appreciate the improved quality of sound in the movie. Sound is directed from the front for all but the sequence in the open field. During those scenes the surrounds are used with directionality between the rears and front for car and airplane sounds.No orher surround use is appreciated. Other scenes offer directionality at times between the fronts. LFE isn't appreciated.

This one barely made it into tier 0 for me, but by the time the credits rolled that is where I feel it belongs.

LFE use was excellent and I have no complaints there. Some truly great LFE moments and everything sounded/felt like it should have. Nice.

Dialog was perfect and no complaints there.

Dynamics were fantastic and startled me on more than one occasion!

Surround use however was noticeably lackluster The action scenes were good enough, but a good portion of the more quiet type moments were VERY front heavy to my ears and failed to fully pull me in to the film. This could have really been good considering the jungle type scenes and various other scenarios that went on. This almost kept this in tier 1 for me, but the other elements were good enough to just get this into tier 0 IMO.

Hey Bryan thanks again for all your work.
In the last audio thread I had reviewed Soundstage: Michael McDonald (5.1 PCM 48kHz) - Tier 0
I didn't see any concerts in the "only has 1 vote" area, don't know if you want to put it in there or not.

This one barely made it into tier 0 for me, but by the time the credits rolled that is where I feel it belongs.

LFE use was excellent and I have no complaints there. Some truly great LFE moments and everything sounded/felt like it should have. Nice.

Dialog was perfect and no complaints there.

Dynamics were fantastic and startled me on more than one occasion!

Surround use however was noticeably lackluster The action scenes were good enough, but a good portion of the more quiet type moments were VERY front heavy to my ears and failed to fully pull me in to the film. This could have really been good considering the jungle type scenes and various other scenarios that went on. This almost kept this in tier 1 for me, but the other elements were good enough to just get this into tier 0 IMO.

I agree with everything here. This is Tier 0. For a (rare) DTS-MA 7.1 mix, i was expecting more from the surrounds. LFE use was definitely top notch. Especially the scenes with the big dinos.

Why does a concert recorded 25 years ago sound WAY better then most of the modern BR shows. What was a reference dvd for concert audio is now a reference BR for concert audio.......this one is as perfect as it gets IMO and is truly a stunner. I did not compare the studio mix with the feature film mix, but I will definitely do that at some point. Funny thing is I think I have always watched the feature film mix on the dvd. This studio mix is just fantastic. I love how they have 2 dif mixes on this one as I am sure some will prefer one over the other and I am surprised more shows dont do this as it is a GREAT idea.

This mix/recording for my money is perfect (I should say as perfect as it gets since nothing is perfect) and is my new go-to for concert audio demo purposes. From lows to highs and everything in between, this one is just amazing! This one will give your sub a BIG workout for a concert (once the show fully gets going about 5 or 6 songs in) and the bass is just so potent, tight and punchy......WOW. If you happen to be reading this JetJockey, I dont see how you would be disappointed in this one. Go get it!

Vocals are perfect in the mix and you can pick out each singer at any given moment.

Dynamics are just fantastic.

Everything sounds so clean crisp and punchy on this one. I wish they all could sound this good! I have actually been hesitant to watch this one since I did not think there was any way this could sound as good as I remembered it......well it sounds better than that and this one is just top notch IMO.

Why does a concert recorded 25 years ago sound WAY better then most of the modern BR shows. What was a reference dvd for concert audio is now a reference BR for concert audio.......this one is as perfect as it gets IMO and is truly a stunner. I did not compare the studio mix with the feature film mix, but I will definitely do that at some point. Funny thing is I think I have always watched the feature film mix on the dvd. This studio mix is just fantastic. I love how they have 2 dif mixes on this one as I am sure some will prefer one over the other and I am surprised more shows dont do this as it is a GREAT idea.

This mix/recording for my money is perfect (I should say as perfect as it gets since nothing is perfect) and is my new go-to for concert audio demo purposes. From lows to highs and everything in between, this one is just amazing! This one will give your sub a BIG workout for a concert (once the show fully gets going about 5 or 6 songs in) and the bass is just so potent, tight and punchy......WOW. If you happen to be reading this JetJockey, I dont see how you would be disappointed in this one. Go get it!

Vocals are perfect in the mix and you can pick out each singer at any given moment.

Dynamics are just fantastic.

Everything sounds so clean crisp and punchy on this one. I wish they all could sound this good! I have actually been hesitant to watch this one since I did not think there was any way this could sound as good as I remembered it......well it sounds better than that and this one is just top notch IMO.

Stop Making Sense (DTS-MA....Studio Mix) REFERENCE

Hi there Toe! Funny thing, i just picked this one up on Friday and to be honest I really wasn't expecting too much audio wise....you know how most of those older concerts display some form of issue in one way or another.

Well, I was blown away by the sound on this oneStudio mix), simply jaw dropping mix.

I don't need to go any further in explanations as Toe' review above is exactly my thoughts as well. Stunning!

Bravo to David Byrne and all the engineers and mixers who had their hands and ears in this project. The bar has just been raised ( big time) in the world of concert mixes, especially vintage shows.

Hi there Toe! Funny thing, i just picked this one up on Friday and to be honest I really wasn't expecting too much audio wise....you know how most of those older concerts display some form of issue in one way or another.

Well, I was blown away by the sound on this oneStudio mix), simply jaw dropping mix.

I don't need to go any further in explanations as Toe' review above is exactly my thoughts as well. Stunning!

Bravo to David Byrne and all the engineers and mixers who had their hands and ears in this project. The bar has just been raised ( big time) in the world of concert mixes, especially vintage shows.

This one barely made it into tier 0 for me, but by the time the credits rolled that is where I feel it belongs.

LFE use was excellent and I have no complaints there. Some truly great LFE moments and everything sounded/felt like it should have. Nice.

Dialog was perfect and no complaints there.

Dynamics were fantastic and startled me on more than one occasion!

Surround use however was noticeably lackluster The action scenes were good enough, but a good portion of the more quiet type moments were VERY front heavy to my ears and failed to fully pull me in to the film. This could have really been good considering the jungle type scenes and various other scenarios that went on. This almost kept this in tier 1 for me, but the other elements were good enough to just get this into tier 0 IMO.

I have to agree with this as well. I was a little disappointed in the audio. It seemed front heavy. Side surrounds were not that exciting and the rear, when I noticed them, were more ambient in content. Not very dynamic.

I have to agree with this as well. I was a little disappointed in the audio. It seemed front heavy. Side surrounds were not that exciting and the rear, when I noticed them, were more ambient in content. Not very dynamic.

I thought the surrounds were used very well for the score (I'm only running 5.1), but having gone back and listened to them again with no other speakers running, I can see where the effects weren't used to their fullest. Dynamics, though? I didn't have a problem with that. Having listened to the surround content alone, though, I would move my vote from reference to Tier 0.

"Front heavy" can be a relative term. In the case of Ice Age 3, while the surrounds weren't as active as they were in, say, Monsters Vs Aliens, I wouldn't (and didn't) consider the track front heavy. Music was used nearly constantly in the surrounds, as well as various roars, voices, and other panning effects. Fully utilized? No. Front heavy? Not in my opinion, at least (Just using IA3 as an example since it brought up the issue).